A master of narrative fiction, Erik Larson is presently working on a new book about Winston Churchill’s first year as prime minister, when Britain faced its gravest threat. The author is using newly available sources, including recently declassified files and personal diaries. Larson calls it “a kind of Downton on Downing.” To learn more about the tentatively titled The Splendid and the Vile, click on the link below to go to the publisher’s website.

It is often these behind-the-scenes accounts of those who work in the shadows, so to speak, that reveal the humanity of historic figures that is hard to find anywhere else. This account by Carole Sovocool, the grand-daughter of the head electrician at Buckingham Palace, is one of those accounts. Click on the link below to read her article.

When Chartwell, Winston Churchill’s country home, was left to the National Trust, there was one noteworthy condition: The residence must always be home to a ginger tom cat with a white bib and four white paws, in memory of Churchill’s beloved pet, Jock.

The Secrets of Churchill’s War Rooms, a new book by Jonathan Asbury, draws on the intimate accounts of those who worked in the underground bunker during World War II. Among those interviewed, Joy Hunter, now a 91-year-old great grandmother of eight.

To read the entire article in the Telegraph, click on the source link below.

Candice Millard to Speak on Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape and the Making of Winston Churchill New York Times best-selling author Candice Millard will discuss her new book about Winston Churchill’s exploits in the Boer War during a lunchtime session at the Thirty-second International Churchill Conference, which takes place at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D. C. from 27–29 October. Millard’s first two books covered Theodore Roosevelt’s post-presidential adventures in the Amazon and the assassination of President James A. Garfield. Her talk promises to be a highlight of a busy conference that marks the opening of the National Churchill Library and Center at George Washington University.

England’s first polymer banknote, a new £5 featuring the image of Winston Churchill, will be formally introduced by the Bank of England this Thursday, June 2. The launch will be held at Blenheim Palace, Churchill’s birthplace in Oxfordshire, and will be in circulation by September. Paper banknotes are set to be phased out entirely by 2020